A recent Gallup poll found that a record-high 80% of American adults feel the nation is “greatly divided” on core values. That probably isn’t too shocking considering today’s highly charged political atmosphere. However, who or what is driving the nation away from unity may be surprising, as is the fact that US citizens generally agree on many hot topic issues. So why is America such a divided nation?

America – A Divided Nation

Gallup conducted its poll August 1-20, asking the same question it did on the first General Social Survey in 1993: “Which statement comes closer to your view: Americans are united and in agreement about the most important values (or) Americans are greatly divided when it comes to the most important values?” Eight in ten respondents (80%), agree that the nation is “greatly divided.” While Americans have believed this for years, this year is the highest number yet. In 2016, for example, that number was 77%. “Results were similar across all races, political identities, ages and other demographic groups,” The Washington Times revealed.

“Today’s doubts about national unity are likely informed by the closely contested presidential elections in recent years, as well as alternating partisan control of Congress that currently has a narrow Republican majority in the House of Representatives and a razor-thin Democratic majority in the Senate,” according to the report. It continued:

“Now, with national pride, trust in government and confidence in U.S. institutions near record lows, Americans see national unity in starkly different terms. These perceptions of greater U.S. division over the past 20 years have occurred throughout both Republican and Democratic presidential administrations and strong and weak national economies. They have also persisted through national crises, triumphs and tragedies that had the potential to unite the nation, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the capture of Osama bin Laden, and school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, and Uvalde, Texas.”

A survey from earlier this year by Ipsos shows pretty much the same results: 81% of Americans say the country is more divided than united. What is really driving this division?

“America’s political climate is toxic,” Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-CA) said in a statement in July after the first assassination attempt on Former President Donald Trump. “It’s become a zero-sum contest using the language of war to describe people who have different political views. Violent threats targeting elected officials, civil servants, election administrators and members of the media are rampant and routine, and our democracy is at risk because of it.”

According to a CBS News Poll earlier this year, 49% of those who took the survey believe future US presidential election losses will result in violence. Trump has said that the way political opponents have bad-mouthed him, such as aligning him with Adolf Hitler and other atrocities, is partially to blame for the attempt on his life.

Some experts agree that voters are more concentrated on the candidates instead of their policies. “We’re a very complicated country, and I think we’ve gotten lost in arguing over what it means to be an American, instead of trying to argue about what not really what governments are for,” Danti Chinni, one of the authors of a study for the American Communities Project at Michigan States, told Bridge Michigan.

The report found that a lot of voters agree on core issues such as abortion, immigration, and wealth inequality, even among vastly different demographics. The big disagreements are in terms of “culture war” such as gender identity, the study explained. Research by Political Psychology suggests that people’s beliefs on policies are often based on who is proposing them, not what the policies stand for. Chinni told Bridge Michigan that the assassination attempt on Trump may heighten political tensions, but it could also create an opportunity to have a discussion about how the [political] temperature has been turned up too high. We need to turn it down.”

The Influencers

Social media influencers have an impact on people’s opinions and they can help promote candidates for presidential elections as well as raise tensions among citizens. But they are not the only ones to blame for our divided nation. The Unity Index reveals that Americans value “service occupations, civility, the military, historic figures, national service, bipartisanship, ‘principles before politics’, being patriotic, and sacrifice are both popular and uniting.” However, “Mainstream news, both national Republicans and national Democrats, and Fox News are seen as both unpopular and dividing.”

The Ipsos survey found that most of the poll takers (66%) believe members of Congress’ day-to-day words and actions contribute to a divided nation, and for pundits and TV news personalities, that number was 70%. While politicians have almost always been viewed with some skepticism, it’s only been within the last decade or so that mainstream media has lost the trust of the people.

Others who help influence opinions include military veterans. According to the study, 41% of poll takers believe their words and actions actually help bring the country together. This group is considered the most uniting of all.

Many Christians turn to their religious leaders for guidance, but according to the survey, one-third (36%) believe these powerful figures’ words and actions increase division. However, a quarter of Americans think they help to bring the country together. Business leaders didn’t fare well with 38% who believe they add to a divided nation.

We live in a time when the noise of division can drown out voices of unity. A lot of people don’t look further than clickbait headlines and, therefore, miss the facts, which adds to our divided nation. Americans may not be as fundamentally opposed as we may seem, but finding a way to navigate the division influencers, such as politics and the media, to discover our shared values is the challenge.